The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, had a record year for research, with $260 million in expenditures.

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Wayne Davis is the interim chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

At the UT Space Institute in Tullahoma, aerospace engineer John Schmisseur is developing materials that may one day help the Air Force travel at speeds five times faster than sound.

In Antarctica, microbiologist Jill Mikucki is studying microorganisms to help NASA better understand the potential for life on Mars. And in East Tennessee, math education professor Lynn Hodge is advancing STEM education in Appalachia to nurture curiosity and help teachers shape our next generation of leaders.

These projects, and more than a thousand others, were part of a record year for research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. We reported $260 million in expenditures for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2018. That’s money from grants, contracts and other external resources spent on finding the answers to some of our society’s most pressing questions.

Growing our research profile means creating opportunities for our university and for the people of Tennessee and beyond.

Dignitaries pose for a photo just before cutting the ribbons to dedicate the new $37.5 million Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building on March 14, 2012. From left are Fran and Min Kao, Gov. Bill Haslam, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Dean Wayne Davis and President Joe DiPietro. Michael Patrick / Knoxville News Sentinel

College of Engineering Dean Wayne Davis is seen outside the entry archway to UT's Estabrook Hall on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. The university plans to build a new nuclear engineering building in place of Estabrook, which was originally built in 1898. Now the school is considering keeping the historic building, or preserving elements of it in the design of a new one. News Sentinel

UT College of Engineering Dean Wayne Davis points to a historic photo on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, showing Estabrook Hall's construction in 1898. The university plans to build a new nuclear engineering building in place of Estabrook. Now the school is considering keeping the historic building, or preserving elements of it in the design of a new one. News Sentinel

College of Engineering Dean Wayne Davis enters UT's Estabrook Hall on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. The university plans to build a new nuclear engineering building in place of Estabrook, which was originally built in 1898. Now the school is considering keeping the historic building, or preserving elements of it in the design of a new one. News Sentinel

College of Engineering Dean Wayne Davis talks with a reporter in his Perkins Hall office on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. The university plans to build a new nuclear engineering building in place of Estabrook Hall, which was originally built in 1898. Now the school is considering keeping the historic building, or preserving elements of it in the design of a new one. News Sentinel

UT's Estabrook Hall, left, is seen in the shadow of Neyland Stadium as College of Engineering Dean Wayne Davis leads a campus tour on Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. The university plans to build a new nuclear engineering building in place of Estabrook Hall, which was originally built in 1898. Now the school is considering keeping the historic building, or preserving elements of it in the design of a new one. News Sentinel

Wayne T. Davis, center, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee gave a tour of the new John Tickle building on Neyland Drive Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013. Davis, and architect Duane Grieve, are standing at a window overlooking two-story beam testing lab built on the first floor. MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL

Preparing to cut the ribbon at the new John D. Tickle Engineering Building, from left, are COE Board of Advisors chair Bill Eversole, building donor Jim Gibson, building donor and Board of Advisors chair-elect Eric Zeanah, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering professor and head Dayakar Penumadu, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, John and Ann Tickle, Dean of Engineering Wayne Davis, UT President Joe DiPietro, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering head John Kobza, student speaker John Scobey, and Associate Dean for Research and Technology Bill Dunne.
submitted

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam (third from left) at the 175 Years of Engineering at UT Gala with, from left, Ileen and Jimmy Cheek; Ann and John Tickle; and Sylvia and Wayne Davis.
Submitted by Jack Parker

Min H. Kao, second from left, joked that he hoped the gift given to him by the school was "not an iPad." Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, right, answered that it was a digital picture frame which they would load with photos from Kao's visit and the dedication for him to take back to his office. Left to right in photo are Wayne T. Davis, dean of engineering, Kao, Gov. Bill Haslam and Cheek. Dedication of the new $37.5 million Min Kao Electrcial Engineering and Computer Science Building Wednesday, Mar. 14, 2012. Michael Patrick/News Sentinel

Dean Wayne Davis will gives a tour Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 of the new Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer science building which will be filled to capacity as soon as it opens. Michael Patrick/News Sentinel

Dean Wayne Davis shows off the largest classroom in the new Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer science building Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2011 during a tour. The new six-story building will gave a tour of the new building will be filled to capacity as soon as it opens. Michael Patrick/News Sentinel

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It means attracting top graduate students through the creation of more assistantships, so they can work beside and learn from our expert faculty.

It means providing undergraduate students with opportunities to develop critical-thinking skills through real-world experiences that will help them succeed in their careers.

It means making meaningful contributions in the communities we partner with.

In Blount County, we work with the public libraries on a Small Business Community Information Exchange to help entrepreneurs flourish.

In Knox County, our university-assisted community schools program improves education for students by supporting their needs both in and out of the classroom.

In towns across Tennessee, citizens benefit from UT’s van program, which helps nonprofit organizations purchase personal mobility vehicles, and students benefit from our Biology in a Box outreach program, which brings hands-on projects to the classroom.

As we have expanded our research efforts, we have established UT as the go-to institution for experts in such fields as forensic anthropology, nuclear engineering, supply chain, computing and advanced materials.

Major corporations in Tennessee like Fed Ex, Mars Incorporated, Volkswagen and Eastman Chemical have come to us to help them develop new technologies and solve industry problems.

Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, support our large multidisciplinary centers, which are working to solve complex problems such as combating mosquito-borne illnesses and improving the nation’s power grid.

Future innovations will come from the work UT is doing

State and local government agencies rely on the talent and knowledge housed here at UT for new technologies like a better way to treat roads for winter weather, and for training that includes courses for law enforcement offered through the Body Farm and development for promising teachers who want to become principals provided through the Leadership Academy.

When the U.S. Navy was looking for help developing alloys last April, they asked Suresh Babu, UT-Oak Ridge National Lab Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing. When researchers last year finally perfected the first-ever 6D measurement of an accelerator beam — an achievement that had eluded scientists for decades — it was a UT-ORNL physics professor Sarah Cousineau who led the effort.

And in the future, when diabetes patients are able to monitor their blood sugar without pricking their fingers multiple times a day, it will likely be because of sensors developed by engineering professor Nicole McFarlane.

As a top-tier research institution, we are devoted to advancing science, exploring new frontiers and better understanding the world around us.

As the state’s flagship land grant university, we are committed to making the future better for all Tennesseans.

Wayne Davis is the interim chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

A Leon County sheriff's deputy in Florida shoots a family's dog in its own yard while visiting without telling family members to just put him up or on a leash. The cartoonist's homepage, tallahassee.com/opinion Nathan Archer, Tallahassee Democrat

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